Syria's monuments : their survival and destruction / / by Michael Greenhalgh.

• Superior document: Heritage and identity : issues in cultural heritage protection ; v. 5
• Author: Greenhalgh, Michael.
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, 2016.
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Heritage and identity (Series) ; 5.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (540 pages)

Syria's Monuments: their Survival and Destruction examines the fate of the various monuments in Syria (including present-day Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine/Israel) from Late Antiquity to the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century. It examines travellers’ accounts, mainly from the 17th to 19th centuries, which describe religious buildings and housing in numbers and quality unknown elsewhere. The book charts the reasons why monuments lived or died, varying from earthquakes and desertification to neglect and re-use, and sets the political and social context for the Empire’s transformation toward a modern state, provoked by Western trade and example. An epilogue assesses the impact of the recent civil war on the state of the monuments, and strategies for their resurrection, with plentiful references and web links.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- 1 The State of Syria in Recent Centuries -- 2 Travel throughout Syria -- 3 The Life and Death of Monuments -- 4 The Seabord: Harbours and Ports North to South -- 5 Aleppo and the North -- 6 Damascus and the Centre -- 7 Bosra and the South -- 8 West of the River Jordan -- 9 East of the River Jordan -- 10 Fortresses Roman, Muslim and Crusader -- 11 Mayhem: Archaeology, Museums and Mandates -- Conclusion -- Epilogue: The Monuments of Syria in 2016 -- Appendix: Brief Biographies of Traveller-Scholars -- Bibliography -- Index -- Illustrations.